Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Directions

• Put a large saucepan of water on to boil.
• Finely chop the 100g pancetta (or bacon), remove rind if any; finely grate 50g pecorino and 50g parmesan and mix together.
• Beat the egg yolks in a medium bowl and season with freshly grated black pepper; set aside.
• Add 1 tsp salt to the boiling water, add spaghetti and cook at a constant simmer until al dente (about 10 minutes).
• Squash the peeled garlic cloves with the blade of a knife to bruise them.
• While spaghetti cooks, melt butter in a large frying pan, add pancetta and garlic.
• Cook on medium for about 5 minutes until pancetta is golden and crisp; remove and discard garlic.
• Keep heat low under pancetta; lift pasta from water and add to the frying pan with pancetta, reserving some pasta water.
• Mix most of the cheese with the eggs, keeping a small handful back for sprinkling.
• Remove the pan from heat, quickly pour in the egg and cheese mixture and toss so the sauce thickens without scrambling.
• Add reserved pasta cooking water a few tablespoons at a time to achieve a glossy sauce; season with salt if needed.
• Serve immediately, sprinkling remaining cheese and freshly grated black pepper; if dry, add more hot pasta water to revive sauciness.